As disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,590,010 (Ramachandran et al.) and copending applications Ser. No. 808,304 (Lin et al.), filed Dec. 12, 1985, and Ser. Nos. 854,084 (Davidson I) and 854,085 (Davidson II), filed Apr. 21, 1986, it is known that (trifluoromethyl)naphthalenes can be prepared by reacting a corresponding halonaphthalene with a trifluoroacetate salt in the presence of cuprous iodide and a dipolar aprotic solvent. The products of these reactions can be recovered by conventional techniques, most satisfactorily by techniques which are conducive to isolation and recycle of the dipolar aprotic solvent and the cuprous iodide. However, it has been found that not all cuprous iodide recovery techniques lead to the recovery of the cuprous iodide in a sufficiently active state.